Two major Middle Eastern airlines say they have no plans to fly to Canberra despite being tipped as the next to land at Canberra's international airport.
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Emirates and Etihad Airways said they had "no plans" to fly to Canberra, despite Qatar Airway's surprise announcement on Tuesday that the Australian capital would be one of 15 new destinations in 2017-18.
Emirates and Etihad respectively are the first and second largest airlines in the UAE although Qatar Airways has embarked on a rapid expansion this year.
"Emirates continues to explore new destinations where we know there is a demand for our services. At this stage no plans have been made regarding Emirates services to Canberra," an Emirates spokeswoman said.
A spokesman for Etihad also said direct flights to Canberra were not on the cards as: "We currently serve the Canberra market through a codeshare arrangement with Virgin Australia."
Qatar Airways was the first international airline to dip its toe in the water after Singapore Airlines successfully launched direct flights between Singapore and Wellington, New Zealand in September.
The ACT government lobbied hard to get Singapore Airlines on board but admitted it was caught short by the announcement that Qatar Airways would eventually land in the capital too.
While ACT chief deputy minister Yvette Berry was quick to attribute the Qatar Airways decision to Canberra's tourism appeal, aviation commentator and author of Plane Talking Ben Sandilands put it down to a battle between international carriers to claim their turf.
"Qatar Airways aren't flying to Canberra because there's a huge number of people wanting to fly to Doha, they want people to go to Doha to connect to flights," he said.
"Singapore Airlines wants to defend its Changi hub against major Middle East hubs including Doha so there's that struggle going on and that's why Qatar Airways is opening flights to all these places that you wouldn't think they had any interest in going. There's a geopolitical contest going on and Canberra is only one corner of that struggle."
The hub-and-spoke model Qatar Airways operates from its base at Hamad International Airport in Doha is based on the highly successful blueprint that Changi Airport set out in the 1980s, one that has also seen Singapore Airlines become a huge player.
"It's a contest between the major hub airports as to who can get the most traffic," Sandilands said.
But while Etihad and Emirates were quick to deny they would be heading to the capital any time soon, it is also worth noting Singapore Airlines also said it had "no plans at this stage" to fly to Canberra, just days before it announced the Capital Express route.
